Elevator systems typically include a car that travels vertically within a hoistway to carry passengers, cargo or both between various levels in a building. The path the car follows is established, in part, by guide rails that are installed in a hoistway. Installing the guide rails and aligning them in proper position within a hoistway is one of the more time-consuming aspects of installing an elevator system. Guide rails must be aligned relative to each other and vertically plumbed within the hoistway, for example. Additionally, the guide rail positions must be set relative to entranceways that are installed at each landing along the hoistway.
The relative positions of the guide rails and the entranceways establishes the position of the elevator car relative to the entranceways at each landing. Having appropriate alignment at those locations is necessary to achieve adequate door engagement between the elevator car doors and the hoistway doors. Additionally, the elevator car must be precisely positioned relative to the landings to facilitate passenger movement between the landings and the interior of the elevator car. There must be sufficient clearance and alignment in order for the elevator car to be able to move through the hoistway while still keeping a small enough gap between the elevator car structure and the entranceway structures.
There have been suggestions for various structures to facilitate mounting car guide rails relative to elevator entranceways. Some such arrangements include a bracket that extends from the entranceway along a sidewall of the hoistway where a guide rail should be positioned. One such example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,147,086. A tool that is useful for positioning guide rails based on doorways is shown in the Published Application WO 2006/054982.